Chapter33

"She is a twin??" Aadesh asked, still dazed after what he heard from his brother.
He had been away for a day and he had come home to receive a shock.
"Yes. A twin" Armaan confirmed
"And she is not Advi's mother??" Aadesh asked, still trying to get hold of the new reality.
"No. Not biologically" Armaan muttered
"And you are not angry at her???" Aadesh asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother
"I was really angry when I came to know the truth. Then when I thought with a calm mind I
realized she did it for Advi." Armaan said
"Wow. Love really does change people, doesn't it??" Aadesh asked and Armaan looked at
him in shock.
"What?? Don't look so shocked. You might have started seeing me only when you were five,
but I have known you since I was born. I know you very well" Aadesh said grinning
"Shut up Addy" Armaan chided at his brother's lame joke
****
Janani walked towards Armaan's study after putting the children to bed that night
"Armaan" she called out softly
"Janani, you are still awake??" Armaan asked with a frown
"Um- can we talk, Armaan?" Janani asked hesitantly
"Of course" he said earnestly and led her to the terrace.
There at the corner was a shaded area with two couches and a tea table. Janani had never
come up to the terrace so she had never seen it before.
"This is Addy's special place. He sometimes likes to sit here and stargaze" Armaan said and
he led her over to the couch.
"Armaan. I- I want to apologise for my earlier behaviour. I know it was not fair of me. And I
also apologise for lying to you.It was not my intention to deceive you. All I could think about
was holding on to Advi as long as I could. I simply couldn't think past that. And when
yesterday you implied that I would sell him for money, I couldn't bear it. I know you have
every right to be angry on me. I hope you will understand why I did what I did" Janani said in
a breath
"I understand," Armaan said as he turned around to stare at the unseeing scenery of the
night.
"So what next??" She asked in the pulsing silence
"That's what we have to decide." Armaan said, taking a deep breath
He was using the royal ‘we'; she didn't think she would have much actual input into what
happened next.
She absolutely have no rights here.
Not over Advi.
Not over Ava.
Not over Armaan!!
"Tell me how your sister got hold of your passport, Janani," he asked.
That was such an unexpected question. Something so irrelevant, she thought
"When we met for the first time, she had short hair. That was one thing to tell us apart
distinctively. We could never fool people like the twins usually do. I was telling her how good
it would have been if her hair was also longer. That's when she took out her passport and
showed me. She had long hair in it. And then I got out my passport to show how I looked a
couple of years ago. Somehow the passports got mixed up"
"And??" Armaan prompted
"Saanvi only realised she had my passport when she was flying out somewhere abroad and
she travelled on it because she didn't want to miss her flight." Janani said
"She lied" Armaan murmured without any expression at all.
"What?" Janani asked in shock
"She had already used your passport in her application to be the surrogate I hired. And the
reason she lied was that she had several criminal cases in her own name. She probably
tracked you down quite deliberately. She set you up to steal your identity, Janani. You have
to accept that and move on" Armaan said softly
Janani paled.
How could her sister do that?
"It was a long time before I found out the passport with me isn't mine. When I asked her
about it, she said she will give it back when she returned"
"Only she never did" Armaan completed
"Obviously you think I am very stupid" Janani said tartly, tears forming in her eyes.
"No, I think you were scammed. She was a scammer, Janani. They are practiced and
charming. They know how to deal with innocent people. Somewhere deep, you recognised
that too, but you didn't want to accept that truth as she was your sister" Armaan said in a
surprisingly soft tone.
"I loved her, I felt an immediate sense of connection with her. The twin bond I have heard of
a lot" Janani said shamefacedly.
"Scammers have to be attractive to pull people in, Janani"
Janani stared into the darkness.
"Why didn't you go to the police about your passport when she refused to give it back?"
"I didn't need my passport because I couldn't afford to travel at the time. And I didn't want to
get her into trouble. For a long time she made excuses about why she wasn't returning it and
I believed her" she admitted with a rueful roll of her eyes.
"I lashed out at you yesterday. I was angry."
As far as Armaam Verma is concerned, this is the most he could do for an apology, Janani
mused
"You have been looking after my child since he was only a few days old." Armaan stated
"Yes. Saanvi went back to Delhi to work. She told me that she earned good money working
in some corporate company and I had no reason to doubt her. I continued my teaching job
and they allowed me to bring Advi in. Saanvi didn't help with the expense and it was a
challenge to afford it on my salary and my savings were soon gone. My parents were
struggling too" Janani admitted
"You've made sacrifices to look after my son" Armaan acknowledged."And you have looked
after him well. You adore each other"
"Yes"
"You love Ava too" another statement
"I couldn't help loving them." Janani sighed.
"But they are not your children" Armaan said
Janani grimaced at that unnecessary reminder.
"That didn't come into it for me. And you met my mother didn't you? She didn't give birth to
me. That didn't stop her from loving me like her own. That's the woman who brought me up"
Armaan continued to study her with brooding intensity.
"My children may not be yours now but they could be..." Armaan went in for the kill
Janani stared back at him in bewilderment.
"What on earth are you saying?" she asked in confusion.
"I am asking you to marry me to become my children's mother and my wife" Armaan said
and winced inwardly as soon as the words got out of his mouth.
This isn't how he planned to proceed.
He was supposed to woo her and make her fall in love before proposing marriage.
The threat of Vikram Thakur looming over his head prompted this proposal, he very well
knew.
Janani might not have any intention of getting back with the toad. But her parents still hope
they will get married some day sooner. And Janani is one of those people who always
chooses other's happiness over hers and she might even agree to marry that lying cheating
bast**d for her parents happiness.
Well!! Not when Armaan Verma is alive.
Janani was in shock.
Armaan Verma was asking her to marry him.
How is that possible?? She had joined him at the terrace to apologise and expecting him to
tell her when she was to go back home. And instead he was proposing marriage. Her lashes
fluttered down to screen her eyes
"Ava and Advi's mother??" Janani asked
"And the mother of any other children that we might have together" Armaan slotted in
smoothly, startling her.
"I am talking about a normal marriage and a family. Be assured of that. It is no marriage of
convenience"
"But we are not in love with each other" she proclaimed bewildered and Armaan's lips
thinned in annoyance.
She is not going to believe if he professes his undying love for her after the way he accused
her yesterday.
"I like you. I respect you. And I will be loyal to you. Love can grow" he said smoothly
"Why me??" She asked badly
"Primarily you love my children and they loves you. I grew up without a mother and I want
more for them" Armaan said
"You could marry anyone" she cut in helplessly.
"But to any other woman Ava and Advi would always be second best once she had a child of
her own. I don't believe you will react like that but many women would" Armaan fielded
quietly.
"Yet you planned Advi's birth knowing you intended to raise your child without a mother" she
reminded him.
"That was before I saw the strength of the bond between you and him and the happiness
that gave him."
He was a manipulative bast**d, Armaan acknowledged himself. Who said people would
change when they fall in love. If anything, he had become even more manipulative it seems.
Having heard enough, Janani forced a smile and rose from her seat.
"I am afraid the man I marry would have to want me for more than my child-rearing
abilities" she told him stiffly, struggling to keep the little amused smile in place and mask the
deep hollow of hurt opening up inside her.
Armaan dealt her a seething look of frustration and strode after her.
"Janani"
Janani didn't turn her head, she just kept on walking away fast, unable to face any further
dialogue.
She was so hurt and she didn't really understand why.
Surely it was always a sort of a compliment if a man asked you to marry him? Even if you
didn't want to say yes.
And at that point, she realised what was wrong.
She wanted more.
She wanted him to want her personally and that was downright silly as well as unlikely.
So many more beautiful and sophisticated women would have snatched at Armaan's offer
with two greedy hands.
"Janani...!!" Armaan exclaimed, closing a powerful hand round her shoulder to spin her
round
"You know very well that I want you for more than that!" Armaan bit out
Janani sucked in a gulp of oxygen and almost lost it again as she clashed with blazing dark
chocolate eyes.
"Do I?" she slashed back in defiance.
"You do know" Armaan told her, pushing her back against the wall behind her.
"How would I know?" Janani thundered back at him. "The kids loves me and you think I am
good for them. That's why you're asking me to marry you."
"Janani, I-"
"No. Your proposal made it clear that providing your children with a mother was your main
motivation!" Janani accused
"For heaven's sake, I was taking a conservative approach. I assumed you would prefer that!"
"Why would a woman want a conservative proposal?" Janani countered impatiently.
He let our a frustrated breath
"We kissed!! Remember?? You still think I want you only as a mother to my children " he
asked
"You kissed me because you were emotional that night"
"I kissed you because I wanted to. I have wanted to kiss you and do more than that ever
since the first moment I saw you" Armaan muttered huskily
Armaan planted his hands squarely on the wall either side of her head, his lean, powerful
body effectively imprisoning hers.
Lowering his head, he brushed his lips almost teasingly against hers and then lingered to
capture and suckle her lower lip, one hand sliding down the wall to close on her hip and jerk
her into closer contact.
His tongue eased between her readily parted lips and delved in unashamedly. Her breathing
fractured as she came off the wall to wrap her arms around his neck, fingertips sliding into
his long silky hair.
"So, is this a yes, sweetheart?" Armaan husked sexily against her swollen mouth.
"Are you always calculating the odds?" Janani complained, jerking her head back out of
reach.
Armaan gave her a wicked grin that let loose a flock of butterflies in her tummy and left her
feeling dizzy.
"I don't switch off my brain very often" he admitted.
She could have him if she wanted him, Janani reflected on a heady high.
And she wanted him—oh, my goodness, yes, she wanted him.
But it would be crazy to make an impulsive decision based on the feelings of the moment.
And her feelings just then were overwhelmingly physical and dangerously unreliable.
Close to Armaan, her body vibrated like a tuning fork. He made her want to drag him off to
the nearest secluded corner. That awareness cooled her heated blood and made her take a
mental step back to take stock.
"I have to think about this" Janani declared, ignoring the frowning slant of his black brows
above his stunning eyes. "I need to be on my own for a while."
Armaan stared at her retreating figure and sighed
He need a very long very cold shower to cool down his heated throbbing body. And he will
have to persuade her harder to agree to his proposal.